The Ministry of External Affairs found itself at the center of a controversy on Saturday after distancing itself from a press conference held by Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi, where women journalists were allegedly barred from attending.
“MEA had no involvement in the press interaction held yesterday by the Afghan FM in Delhi,” the ministry said in a statement, seeking to clarify its role after widespread criticism over the exclusion of female reporters.
What Happened At The Press Conference
The press conference was organized at the Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi on Friday, following bilateral talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Muttaqi. During the interaction, the Taliban minister addressed regional issues, including India-Afghanistan relations, humanitarian assistance, trade routes, and security cooperation.
However, only selected male journalists and officials from the Afghan embassy attended the presser. Women journalists who attempted to cover the event claimed they were denied entry—a move that immediately sparked political outrage nationwide.
Political Backlash Mounts
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarify his position on the incident, calling it “an insult to India’s women journalists.”
In a strongly worded post on X, she said: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, please clarify your position on the removal of female journalists from the press conference of the representative of the Taliban on his visit to India. If your recognition of women’s rights isn’t just convenient posturing from one election to the other, then how has this insult to some of India’s most competent women been allowed in our country, a country whose women are its backbone and its pride.”
Former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram expressed shock and suggested male journalists should have walked out in solidarity with their female colleagues.
“I am shocked that women journalists were excluded from the press conference addressed by Mr Amir Khan Muttaqi of Afghanistan. In my personal view, the men journalists should have walked out when they found that their women colleagues were excluded (or not invited),” Chidambaram said on X.
Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram went further, directly criticizing the government’s handling of the situation.
“I understand the geopolitical compulsions that force us to engage with the Taliban, but to accede to their discriminatory and primitive mores is outright ridiculous. It’s very disappointing to note the conduct of the Ministry of External Affairs and S Jaishankar in excluding women journalists from the press briefing of the Taliban Minister,” he said.
The Diplomatic Context
The controversy emerged against the backdrop of a significant diplomatic development. During his bilateral meeting with Muttaqi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced that India would upgrade its Technical Mission in Kabul to the status of Embassy of India.
“India is fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan. To enhance that, I am pleased to announce today the upgrading of India’s Technical Mission in Kabul to the status of Embassy of India,” Jaishankar said during his opening remarks at the meeting.
The Taliban minister’s visit, which began on October 9 and continues until October 16, marks the first high-level delegation from Kabul to India since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.